This is THE film that started it all. Oh, there were other musicals before this (Broadway Melody of 1929 won the Oscar a few years back), but "42nd street", was the trailblazer. It introduced the world to Busby Berkeley's wonderful kaleidoscope images of leggy chorine girls- and we never looked back. The plot (young chorus girl is plucked from oblivion to replace the temperamental) female star is old hat now, but this is where it all originated from. It probably made other studios, like RKO, consider doing musicals (and look what RKO gave us...Fred & Ginger!)So "42nd Street" deserves a lot of credit for it's unique place in history. And it's an entertaining film to boot.
So why do I prefer Gold Diggers of 1933? Well, the later film moves faster, seems to have much more energy, has better musical numbers and actors. I was surprised at how the musical numbers were so bunched up in this film- they seemed to all come at the end (the show-stopping finale), when they could have been more spaced out. Yes, the point of the finale is to finally reveal the show miraculously coming together, but there's not enough heat in the first half (at least for me).
Ruby Keeler became a huge musical star after "42nd street". Oh, Ruby. She was so cute and plucky and likable, but Lord, was she a bad actor and singer! Seen today, her tapping is also quite average. I've read that "buck-dancing", tap where movement below the waist was emphasised, was the style of the time and that could account for little Ruby looking like a clopping horse. And when Ginger's wise-cracking Anytime Annie (Ginger was just crying out for a lead role then, the girl stole every scene!) insists to the producer that Peggy's the only chorine who can save the show, I had to laugh. Luckuly Dick Powell, who I like a lot, was around to show the way. We also have George Brent and Bebe Daniels in the mix. Daniels was quite good but she just wasn't appealing to me.
So why do I prefer Gold Diggers of 1933? Well, the later film moves faster, seems to have much more energy, has better musical numbers and actors. I was surprised at how the musical numbers were so bunched up in this film- they seemed to all come at the end (the show-stopping finale), when they could have been more spaced out. Yes, the point of the finale is to finally reveal the show miraculously coming together, but there's not enough heat in the first half (at least for me).
Ruby Keeler became a huge musical star after "42nd street". Oh, Ruby. She was so cute and plucky and likable, but Lord, was she a bad actor and singer! Seen today, her tapping is also quite average. I've read that "buck-dancing", tap where movement below the waist was emphasised, was the style of the time and that could account for little Ruby looking like a clopping horse. And when Ginger's wise-cracking Anytime Annie (Ginger was just crying out for a lead role then, the girl stole every scene!) insists to the producer that Peggy's the only chorine who can save the show, I had to laugh. Luckuly Dick Powell, who I like a lot, was around to show the way. We also have George Brent and Bebe Daniels in the mix. Daniels was quite good but she just wasn't appealing to me.